Smile...

I just had to laugh as I walked into Ristuccia Memorial Arena at quarter ’til eleven this morning. I hadn’t expected that to happen, given Boston’s issues with Ottawa yesterday afternoon and the Gumper’s passing -- the Gump is one of my all-time favorite hockey players.

But, thankfully, I did laugh when I overheard some of the youth players talking about the Bruins.

"Zdeno Chara’s hockey stick is taller than both of you put together," said one mite, correctly, to two other small hockey players nearby.

Perhaps it wasn’t the best day for the Bruins to have a lot of spectators in Wilmington, but the twenty or so who did show up did much to adjust this scribe’s attitude as I strolled through the entrance.

Hockey is supposed to be fun, after all.

The Sunshine didn’t hurt and $2.03 per gallon in Wilmington was pretty cool, too.

However, my fellow True Believers, there’s no doubt about it, yesterday was a very tough loss. As things stand this morning the Bruins are in one heck of a pickle. And as several newspaper writers have noted, there’s no way any of us would want to be in GM’s shoes at the present moment. With the trade deadline looming, there will certainly have to be some decisions made in the next couple of weeks, if not days.

Although a Harvard degree never hurts when it comes to being a problem solver, no?

That being said, the B’s did not take the ice right at 11, and thankfully Ristuccia had a rather welcoming temperature within its confines just before noon. When they did start skating they concentrated, initially, on passing and puck possession before moving into some line rushes.

The defense on the ice was:Chara, Mara, Allen, Alberts, Stuart, Jurcina, York

Marc Savard was surely full of energy and was the latest Bruin to put a shot THROUGH the net when he bested one of the B’s goalies during the session. True to his nature as the consummate on-ice showman, he made sure A.) That it had gone through B.) That someone noticed.

Assistant Coach Doug Houda nodded his head in the affirmative to both A and B.

We saw it, too, Savvy. Very cool trick.

By my count, Savard is the third Bruin to pull it off this season, with Glen Murray (twice) and Big Z making a heavy delivery earlier on the campaign.

And just to bring this little tome full circle, no matter the score, the kids watched in rapt attention as their heroes practiced.